Damian Flanagan Title: Damian Flanagan
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2019
2018 FebruaryRe-imagining Akutagawa with David Peace at the Daiwa Foundation in London
2018
2018 April
'Night Meetings', Radio broadcast, BBC3.
'
An Evening with Yukio Mishima' at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo.
2018 March Eyes on Murakami - 'Murakami and the Mishima Incident', talk at Newcastle University 
2018 January'The Extraordinary Untold Story of James Bond and Japan' at the Daiwa Foundation, London
'Heart to Heart: From Hearn's Kokoro to Soseki's Kokoro', Benkyokai, London (in Japanese)
2017
2017 NovemberKeynote: Soseki and Shakespeare, Keio University (in Japanese)

2017 July

Soseki Natsume - Shakespeare Workshop - University College London
'Star Wars: From Samurai to Jedi' at the Bradford Literature Festival
'Writing Revolution' at the Bradford Literature Festival

2017 April 'The Dark Secret of Natsume Soseki' at Summerville, Manchester
2017 March 'Love and Perverted Desires in Four Centuries of Japanese Literature' at the Daiwa Foundation, London
2016
2016 December

2016 September

2016 September

2016 September
2016 June
2016 April


2016 February
 
'From Kokoro of Koizumi Yakumo to Kokoro of Natsume Soseki' at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, Japan
'Two Superstars of World Literature: Natusme Soseki and William Shakespeare' at the University of Tokyo
'My Alternative History of Japanese Literature' at the Challenge of Japan symposium at the University of Tokyo
'Shakespeare and Japan' at the Japanese Embassy, London
Talk: 'The Life of Lafcadio Hearn' at the Koizumi Yakumo Museum, Yaizu, Japan
'Life of Lafcadio Hearn' at the Shirayuri University, Tokyo
Talk: 'Two Giants of World Literature: Natsume Soseki and William Shakespeare'
at the Heian Hotel, Kyoto, Japan
Talk: 'Natsume Soseki's London: A Literary Odyssey' at the Daiwa Foundation, London
2015
2015 November
2015 September

2015 September

2015 March
2015 March
2015 February
2015 February
2015 January
Talk: 'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?' at the University of Tokyo
Talk: 'Heart to Heart: The Intertwined Lives of Masaoka Shiki, Natsume Soseki
and Lafcadio Hearn' at the Lafcadio Hearn Centre, University of Durham
Talk: 'Who Killed Yukio Mishima? at the Sainsbury Institute, Norwich

Talk: 'Glenn Gould and Natsume Soseki' at the Daiwa Foundation, London 
Talk: 'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?' at University of Edinburgh
Talk: 'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?' at World Museum, Liverpool
Talk: 'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?' at University of Sheffield
Talk:  'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?' at University of Cambridge
2014
2014 December
2014 October
2014 February
Talk: Who Killed Yukio Mishima? University of Manchester
 Daiwa Foundation book launch for Yukio Mishima Biography. With Youtube video.
Talk: The Greatest Modern Japanese Novelist - exhibition tour and book club
with Damian Flanagan, The Japan Society at the Embassy of Japan in London
Previous
2010 October Japan Day in Manchester UK
2007 July
2007 June
Talk on Japanese Literature at Manchester Art Gallery, UK
Talk on Japanese Literature in Nishinomiya, Japan
2006 June
2006 April 
IJET-17 Seminar in Kobe, Japan
Donald Keene Translation Prize in New York City, USA
2005 January  The Tower of London book launch in London, United Kingdom

2019


Daiwa Foundation Damian Flanagan

Friday 22 February 2019
6:00pm – 7:00pm

Re-imagining Akutagawa

Drinks reception: 7:00pm – 8:00pm

13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle (entrance facing Regent's Park), London NW1 4QP

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Book your place


2018





BBC3 The Verb's Ian McMillan

Damian Flanagan will be joining host Ian McMillan (above) on his BBC Radio 3 Program The Verb.
The topic is: Night Meetings, other panelists include: the poet Yasuhiro Yotsumoto, Enka singer Akari Mochizuki and comedian Yuriko Kotani. It is part of a series of programs on Japan called 'Night Blossoms'.

Broadcast: BBC Radio 3 10pm, 26/4/2018.





   

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Tokyo
Damian Flanagan

'An Evening with Yukio Mishima'

Wednesday April 11th, 2018, 6:15pm-8.30pm
The event is in English and it is open to the public, contact the club directly to reserve a place.

 

Talk by Damian Flanagan at the Eyes on Murakami conference
'Haruki Murakami and the Mishima Incident'

University of Newcastle
8-9 March 2018




Daiwa Foundation, London



The Extraordinary Untold Story of James Bond in Japan
Damian Flanagan
Tuesday 23rd January 2018

  Watch the Youtube talk here.


2017




 


Soseki Natsume - Shakespeare Workshop - University College London
July 25th 2017




'Star Wars: From Samurai to Jedi' and 'Writing Revolution'
July 1st and 2nd at the Bradford Literature Festival

Star Wars - Bradford Literary Festival

writing revolution bradford literary festival

'Star Wars' - Bradford Literature Festival, July 1st, 2017, 12.30pm
University of Bradfall Great Hall

"This event will provide a thrilling insight into how two cultures can come together and inspire a generation. For fans of Star Wars and Japanese culture alike."

'Writing Revolution' - Bradford Literature Festival,

July 2nd, 2017, 3.30pm
University of Bradfall - Norcroft Auditorium

"In this stellar panel, writers Christopher de Bellaigue, Mona Eltahawy and Damian Flanagan discuss how a writer might negotiate their political views within their career and whether their writing can ever and should ever be removed from the world of politics."



'The Dark Secret of Natsume Soseki'
In association with The Japan Society North West

       


 



at Summerville, Daisy Bank Road Manchester, April 29th 2017, 2-4pm.







'Love and Perverted Desires in Four Centuries of Japanese Literature'
The Daiwa Foundation, London




Tuesday 14th March 2017, 6-8pm
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle (entrance facing Regent's Park), London NW1 4QP
Watch the video here.

2016

'From Kokoro of Koizumi Yakumo to Kokoro of Natsume Soseki'
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, Japan



Dec. 9 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), a novelist widely regarded as being the greatest writer of modern Japan.

By a considerable margin, Soseki is the most analyzed Japanese author in modern literature. Hundreds upon hundreds of books have been written about him and thousands upon thousands of academic papers published.

In 1895, Hearn published a book called “Kokoro.” Nineteen years later, his successor at Tokyo Imperial University, Soseki, published a novel of the same title. It's generally thought that these two books are unrelated, but I believe they are. Indeed, Soseki's novel could be seen as a satirical inversion of Hearn's book.

Talk: 22 Dec 2016 (Thur.) 17:40 - 19:00 (In Japanese)

youtube  
Watch Damian Flanagan's Talks on Youtube.
 
  Youtube Natsume Soseki A Literary Odyssey  'Natsume Soseki: A Literary Odyssey'       
 
  Youtube Natsume Soseki Damian Flanagan 'Glen Gould and Natsume Soseki'                               

  Damian Flanagan Mishima  Book Launch: Yukio Mishima


2016 June
'The Life of Lafcadio Hearn' at the Koizumi Yakumo Museum, Yaizu, Japan

Koizumi Yakumo Museum

Koizumi Yakumo Museum, Yaizu




2016 April
'Two Giants of World Literature: Natsume Soseki and William Shakespeare' 

Kyoto Heian Hotel

Kyoto Heian Hotel, Japan




2016 February 
'Natsume Soseki's London: A Literary Odyssey' 

Daiwa Foundation London

Daiwa Foundation, London



2015

Sunday 15th November
'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?' (In Japanese)
International Mishima Symposium
.


University of Tokyo

University of Tokyo



2015 September
'Heart to Heart: The Intertwined Lives of Masaoka Shiki, Natsume Soseki and Lafcadio Hearn'

Lafcadio Hearn Centre University of Durham

Lafcadio Hearn Centre University of Durham




'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?'
Damian Flanagan will be speaking at the Sainsbury Institute
Thursday 17th September 2015, 6pm





'The Three Cornered World of Glenn Gould and Natsume Soseki'



Daiwa Foundation, London
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP
Thursday 12th March, 6pm



The University of Edinburgh



'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?' Guest Lecture at the
School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
Tuesday 3rd March, 5:15pm




'Who Killed Yukio Mishima?'
World Museum Liverpool
Saturday 28th February, 2pm






Talk at the University of Sheffield
Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences
Thursday 9th February at 4:30pm.


SEAS Research Seminar: Thursday 19 February 2015. Damian Flanagan - Who Killed Yukio Mishima? Time and Destiny in the Life and Work of Japan's Master Author and Playwright.

Talk 4.30pm-5.30pm, to be followed by a drinks reception 5.30pm-6.30pm





 

Talk at the University of Cambridge
(Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies)
Who Killed Yukio Mishima?

Monday 26 January at 5pm.




2014


University of Manchester, University Place, 4pm

Who Killed Yukio Mishima? 







BOOK LAUNCH



The Daiwa Foundation hosted the book launch for Reaktion book's 'Yukio Mishima' by Damian Flanagan.

Click here for a Youtube video of Damian recorded at the Daiwa Foundation.






Monday 3rd FebruarYukio y 2014

Embassy of Japan Soseki Exhibition

Talk and Tour

The Greatest Modern Japanese Novelist - exhibition tour and book club with Damian Flanagan, The Japan Society at the Embassy of Japan in London



2007



Manchester Art Gallery - Japan Society North West
http://www.manchestergalleries.org/
Damian will give a talk at Manchester Art Gallery open to all and hosted by the Japan Society North West.  


Saturday 14th July 2007 @ 2 pm (to 4 pm)
.

Natsume Sōseki

 

Come along to Manchester Art Gallery's Lecture Theatre where Dr Damian Flanagan will introduce the work of Natsume Soseki, the most celebrated Japanese novelist of the modern era.

 

Dr Damian Flanagan is passionate about Soseki's work. He wrote, in Japanese, a book on Soseki which caused a sensation when it was published four years ago. He has also translated Soseki's Britain-based short stories, in the award-winning collection The Tower of London: Tales of Victorian London, as well as writing definitive critical introductions for several of Soseki's greatest novels in English. Find out more about Damian on his website: www.damianflanagan.com.

 

The talk offers a unique opportunity to view two key Pre-Raphaelite paintings that hang in Manchester Art Gallery - William Holman Hunt's The Hireling Shepherd and The Lady of Shallot. Dr Flanagan believes these paintings inspired some of the most famous literary works of modern Japan.

Come along and find out more...

Plan

10.00            Option 1. Arrive very early and go and see the Kylie Minogue exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery. Alternatively go to see the paintings the Hireling Shepherd and the Lady of Shallot.

   

Which is the Lady of Shallot?


 

12:00            Option 2. Arrive for lunch and go to 'Mai Bai' Sushi Bar (next to the Art Gallery).

 

  Mai Bai - Sushi Deli

37 Princess Street,

Albert Square,

Manchester, M2 4FN

 

2 pm               Official start. Gather in the Foyer of the Manchester Art Gallery.

2:30 pm     Damian Flanagan will give a talk on the works of Natsume Soseki.

4 pm             End of talk and another chance to see the Lady of Shallot.

 

Talk on Japanese Literature
by Damian Flanagan

This year Kodansha International will be publishing a groundbreaking book in Japanese by British author Damian Flanagan called Natsume Soseki: Superstar of World Literature.

Damian has already produced five books on Japanese literature, including Nihonjin ga Shiranai Natsume Soseki (The Natsume Soseki the Japanese Don't Know), followed by his award-winning collection of translations from Soseki's early years spent in Britain 'The Tower of London: Tales of Victorian London'.

 

Damian's talk will encompass:

- Soseki's place amongst Modern Japanese and World Literature

- Why Kokoro is Japan's most fiercely debated and popular novel

- Soseki's interest in British art and the Holman Hunt connection

 

This is a unique opportunity to hear about some of the defining works of modern Japan and to explore the extraordinary international influence of paintings held right here in the North-West.

 

Venue: Manchester Art Gallery Lecture Theatre, 10 to 15 minutes walk from Oxford Road and Deansgate Stations

 

Cost: Free.

 

If you would like to attend this event please contact the
JSNW events co-ordinator at:
events@jsnw.org.uk or phone on 01925 728448.








SWET Kansai June Event - JUNE 16th

Damian Flanagan talked about Natsume Soseki: Superstar of World Literature

Damian Flanagan, literary authority and prize-winning translator, gave a talk about the books of Natsume Soseki, which he considers some of the greatest works in world literature.

Damian has himself produced four books on Soseki, starting with Nihonjin ga Shiranai Natsume Soseki (The Natsume Soseki the Japanese Don’t Know) in 2003, followed by his award-winning collection of translations from Soseki’s early years spent in Britain entitled The Tower of London: Tales of Victorian London in 2005. He has also written definitive critical introductions to such classics as Kokoro and The Gate.

This talk coincided with the publication of a further groundbreaking book in Japanese called Natsume Soseki: Superstar of World Literature. Part memoir, part essay, it was an amusing and passionately written account of Damian’s fascination with the works of Japan’s greatest modern author.

Damian wrestled with ingrained perceptions of Soseki in Japan while simultaneously trying to reintroduce his works to the West where appreciation of the author is so slight. His talk focused on:

  • Why Kokoro is one of the most fiercely debated novels in world literature, generating over 500 academic papers (and counting!)
  • The depth and complexity in Soseki’s frequently overlooked classic The Gate
  • Why Botchan is one of the great world comedies

This was to be an unmissable event for anyone with an interest in some of the defining works of modern Japan.

Sponsored by the Society of Writers, Editors and Translators (SWET) and co-sponsored by Kobe College Research Institute


Date: June 16 (Sat.) 3:30 - 5:30 pm

Location: Nishinomiya-shi Daigaku Kōryū Centre, 6F Lecture Room 1, ACTA East Tower, adjacent to Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi Stn

Fee: 500 yen for SWET members, 1,000 yen for non-members (No charge for Kobe College students and staff)

Reservations: SWET Kansai.


2006

..
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I-JET-17 Seminar in Kobe, Japan

IJET-17 is a conference for professional Japanese-English translators and interpreters. Damian Flanagan will be presenting a session on Saturday June 17th.

Elementary, My Dear Watson: The Translator at Loose in the World of Victorian London

Literary translation from Japanese to English usually involves introducing the mysterious, exotic world of Japan to the Western reader. However Japanese does not, of course, have to describe Japan at all. In this session he discussed the challenges and problems of translating Natsume Soseki's descriptions of Victorian Britain while considering how the Japanese language itself has been transformed since 1900 and what pitfalls this might have for the unwary translator. Some of the most basic aspects of Japanese have changed in the last century and sometimes bamboozle even the most sophisticated Japanese reader.

While taking a light-hearted look at some of his own translation agonies, and with numerous illustrative examples from his translation 'The Tower of London; Tales of Victorian London', Damian also explained how a key part of the transformation of Soseki's stories into English lay in understanding many peculiarities of the world described. Translation becomes a journey not only into contemporary Japanese literary styles, but into the social mores and economic conditions at the time when the British Empire ruled supreme. In the book he also included a translation of a pastiche Sherlock Holmes story (The Yellow Lodger) by the enormously popular writer Yamada Futaro. But how does one go about rendering a story like this in English and making it enjoyable and fun for readers familiar with the original Holmes stories? My dear Watson, all was revealed...


IJET-17 was held June 17-18, 2006 at the International Conference Center, Kobe, Japan.

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Donald Keene Translation Prize in New York City, USA
....

Damian Flanagan was awarded the 2005 Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Translation Award from Columbia University's Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture.

.... The Award Ceremony  was held in New York at Columbia University on Friday April 21st 2006.

The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia University annually awards $5,000 in Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prizes for the Translation of Japanese Literature. A prize is given for the best translation of a modern work or a classical work, or the prize is divided between equally distinguished translations.

To qualify, works must be book-length translations of Japanese literary works: novels, collections of short stories, literary essays, memoirs, drama, or poetry. Submissions are judged on the literary merit of the translation and the accuracy with which it reflects the spirit of the Japanese original. 

The prizes for 2005 were shared between Mr. Damian Flanagan for his translation of The Tower of London by Natsume Soseki and to Mr. Yosei Sugawara for his translation of The Gift of Numbers by Ogawa Yoko.

...

Columbia - Kent Hall

The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture
 
Click here to see the calligraphy
Kosaka Misuzu presented to Damian especially for the ceremony.
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2005

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Book Launch for The Tower of London at Peter Owen
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On January 27th, 2005 at The Japan Foundation in London, Damian Flanagan launched The Tower of London with great success.
....

Click here for Damian Flanagan's speech at the book's launch. 

The speech is not only a thorough introduction to the book, but also explains the background of its publication whilst contextualising Natsume Soseki in the annals of world literature.
....
Damian with 2 books

The picture above shows author Damian Flanagan holding two of his books,  The Tower of London  and '日本人が知らない夏目漱石'.

The following pictures are from publisher Peter Owen's site:

Book Launch 01  Book Launch 02

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